The Aurors
by scb
Summary: Harry and Ron are enlisted into the Aurors. Follow them through training and afterwards, and see how Ginny and Hermione fare without the ones they love. RHr, HG Rated R
1. Enlisting

Chapter 1: Enlisting  
  
The day Harry Potter graduated was celebrated for two things. Only days before, he had faced the Dark Lord with his best friends for the final time. After emerging from the battle injured but alive, he returned home to Hogwart's to spend one more weekend in the castle before leaving.  
  
Shortly after the ceremony, the Hogwart's Express departed the station for London. As Harry had made plans to stay with the Weasley's for the summer, it was an enjoyable trip, with no concerns about the Dursley's at all. The party continued at the Burrow for the three friends, with the Granger's and the entire Weasley family in attendance. However, as dusk fell, the party took on a more somber mood.  
  
Two owls had just arrived, landing on Ron and Harry's shoulders. They stayed only long enough for the young men to untie the letters attached to their legs, before taking off again.  
  
"Expecting congratulations from the Dursley's, Harry?" asked Ron smugly. Everyone laughed thoroughly at this, as the Dursley's had sent Harry a single postage stamp as a graduation present.  
  
"Not especially" Harry replied, "But why would the Ministry send us both an owl already?" Ginny and Hermione both tried to look over their boyfriend's shoulders, but found it impossible as they were both nearly a foot shorter. "Well, open them up" said Bill.  
  
The boys tore open the letters and read silently for a minute, than slowly raised their eyes to meet the others.  
  
"Did you." Harry started. "This can't be.." Ron muttered. "What is it, Ron? Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked nervously.  
  
"Mum, you're not going to believe this, but Harry and I have been drafted" Ron answered softly. "WHAT!" exclaimed the rest of the partygoers. "Let me see that!" Hermione said, as she grabbed Ron's letter from his hand.  
  
"Oh, Ron," she said as she looked back up at him with tears in her eyes, "It says if you don't report tomorrow to the enlistment station, you will be thrown in Azkaban for 3 years!"  
  
Ginny had also grabbed Harry's letter and read the exact same words. However, her reaction was somewhat different. "Why are they making you enlist to be an Auror, when You-Know-Who was destroyed less than a week ago?" she asked furiously. "This is ridiculous! You have to leave tomorrow for 6 months?"  
  
"Gin, what do you want me to say? There are still Death Eaters out there, causing havoc all over the country." Harry answered calmly. "The Ministry needs all the help it can get, Ginny." Mr. Weasley said. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Harry and Ron's dorm mates were also enlisted."  
  
"Why would only the men be enlisted? There are a lot of females Aurors out there." Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing slightly, though still shining with unshed tears.  
  
"Perhaps the Ministry has other needs for the females, something that women excel at." Mr. Weasley answered. "I honestly don't know why."  
  
"Don't worry 'Mione, it's not that long really." Ron said reassuringly "Besides, it's an honor to be able to serve." "I know Ron, I'm just really going to miss you." she said.  
  
"I guess we getter get packed, mate." Harry said to him. "Yeah, I guess so." Ron answered. The rest of the Weasley's took this as their cue to leave the young couples to say goodbye in private. Even Hermione's parents went out to wait in their car.  
  
"I'll write to you as much as I can, Ron. You know I will." "I know babe, I know."  
  
"I'm really going to miss you Harry Potter." "I know Gin, I'll miss you too."  
  
After a long time of just holding one another, Ron leaned down and gave Hermione one last kiss goodbye. Harry mimicked Ron's actions, and gave Ginny a loving kiss, even though she would see him off tomorrow. Hermione left soon after, and Ginny went inside.  
  
Ron and Harry stayed outside for a while, just being alone with their thoughts. Finally Ron asked, "Hey, do you think that the rest of the guys got enlisted too?" "I don't know, but if they did, this might just be fun after all!" Harry replied.  
  
The next morning Harry and Ron were escorted to the enlistment station by Mr. Weasley to fill out the necessary paperwork and take their oath of enlistment. As they stood in line, Ron thought he spotted Dean Thomas ahead of them.  
  
"Oi! Dean!" Ron called out. Not only did Dean move back in the line to join them, but so did Seamus. "Hey guys, you got the owl too, huh?" Harry asked. "Yeah, and let me tell you, Lavender and Parvati are less than thrilled about it" Dean informed them.  
  
"Yeah, ours weren't too happy either. At least Ginny goes back to school next term. That might help the time go by faster for her." Harry said glumly. "Hey, where's Neville? Is he already through the line?"  
  
"Nah, he's got that bum knee from that tumble down the stairs last term. He wouldn't be able to keep up with the physical side of it." Seamus answered. "Besides, he got accepted to the University to study Advanced Herbology with Hannah Abbot."  
  
"What's up with them anyway?" Ron asked. "Well, right now they are just friends, but we all know Neville wants more from her than friendship." Dean replied.  
  
After a few more minutes of idle conversation, the boys finally reached the front of the line. They checked in, and were sent into a classroom with the rest of the enlistees. Looking around, Ron noticed that many of the other young men in the room with them were former Hogwart's students. Nearly all of them in he and Harry's year.  
  
When the wizard in crisply pressed robes entered the room and stood in front of the young men, the chattering stopped.  
  
"Good morning gentlemen, I'm glad to see you all made it, and that none of you will be spending time in Azkaban for desertion. My name is Captain Sean Keller, and I will be your Company Commander for the duration of your Basic Auror Training or B.A.T."  
  
"You will probably see very little of me during training, but when you do, please remember that I am an Officer, and you will treat me as such. That means you will call me 'sir'."  
  
"The men and women who will be training you are not Officers, they are Drill Sergeants. They do not like to be called 'sir', or 'ma'am'. I suggest you learn that very quickly."  
  
"During your B.A.T., I will be assessing your abilities and will decide what kind of Auror training you will follow. Not all of you will be field agents. Nonetheless, the training is all similar, and I will try to match you with a training regiment that matches your personality."  
  
"At this time, you will change into your B.A.T. robes, and prepare yourself and your belongings for transport. As I call your name, you will go through the door I indicate and wait for the portkey to activate. The other men in the room with you will be your platoon mates. Trust me, you will get to know them very well in the next 6 months."  
  
"Everyone ready? Then let's begin: Potter, Harry, 1st Platoon; Malfoy, Draco, 2nd Platoon; Boot, Terry, 3rd Platoon; Weasley, Ronald, 1st Platoon."  
  
As each name was called, that man went through the door indicated, and waited in a smaller room. Ron, Dean, Seamus and Harry were delighted to all be in the same platoon. They met the other men that joined them, and everyone seemed to be friendly.  
  
When the final man stepped through the doorway, the door swung shut loudly, and the men waited in silence. A basketball dropped down through a hole in the ceiling, and the men picked up their bags. As each of them placed a hand on the ball, they looked at each other, not knowing what to expect.  
  
Suddenly, they felt the all too familiar pull behind their naval, and then there was darkness. 


	2. Training Day 1

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling. All credit belongs to her.  
  
A/N: 2 of the Drill Sergeants in this story are the embodiments of 2 of my former Drill Sergeants. Many of the experiences from this story are my own. I have the utmost respect for Drill instructors, as they have one of the most demanding jobs in the US Army.  
  
Chapter 2: Training -Day 1  
  
As soon as they arrived at their destination, there was mass confusion. Ron was only vaguely aware of Dean's arm across his throat. There seemed to be several more wizards and witches nearby and all of them were screaming furiously at them.  
  
"Get up you stupid fucking idiots!" "Why are you staring at me you four eyed freak!" "Don't tell me we've got this group of bloody girls for a platoon!"  
  
Ron and the others had never quite been exposed to this kind of behavior before. As he stood up, he glanced around and saw that the other two platoons had landed about 50 meters away.  
  
They seemed to be in a large field of freshly cut grass, with a building nearby. Ordinarily Ron would have found the precise manicure of the field to be impressive, but just as he was thinking about it, a pair of rough hands grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward.  
  
He was suddenly face to face with a very large, very pissed off looking wizard, with a funny looking hat on his head.  
  
"Tell me Private, why are you standing on my lawn, when the rest of your platoon is not?" the wizard asked with teeth clenched. "Er." Ron stammered, looking to see where everyone else was.  
  
As he looked down, he saw Harry's back and noticed that everyone else was now lying face down on the wet grass. He looked back up just in time to see the Drill Sergeant's fist swinging at him.  
  
Without further ado, Ron dropped to the ground, barely ducking the fist, and lay there motionless. He saw Harry out of the corner of his eye, and saw his glasses sitting crookedly on his face. Trying to suppress a snicker at the absurdity of lying in a field with his best mate, with a bunch of people yelling over their heads was becoming difficult.  
  
"Shut up you bloody git!" Harry hissed at Ron, as he tried not to burst out laughing.  
  
Suddenly Harry was no longer lying next to Ron. The soles of his trainers were about 2 inches off the ground. The Drill Sergeant that had nearly creamed Ron had apparently heard Harry speaking.  
  
"I know you did not just tell your Senior Drill Sergeant to shut up!" the man roared at Harry. "N-N-No, of course not Sir!"  
  
This was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Harry was pushed face first into the ground again. "Crawl, you four-eyed, scar-headed, pumpkin-pie- haircut LOSER!"  
  
Harry began to crawl on his belly like a snake. The Drill Sergeant placed one spit shined boot on Harry's back and pushed down, effectively stopping his dying cockroach impression.  
  
"Let this be a lesson to you all" the Drill Sergeant said loudly, "This Private thinks that I am an Officer for some reason. DO I LOOK LIKE AN OFFICER TO YOU? I work for a living, so the only thing I want to hear out of your prissy mouths is YES, DRILL SERGEANT or NO, DRILL SERGEANT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"  
  
"Yes, Drill Sergeant" the Privates mumbled, clearly to nervous to do anything else. The large wizard however wasn't satisfied. "Bull shit! I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"  
  
The response was a little louder this time, with the exception of Harry whose mouth was full of dirt and grass from the weight of the Drill Sergeant on his back.  
  
"Drill Sergeant Tonks, do you think they understood me?" the wizard asked. At the mention of her name, Ron whipped his head around and saw for the first time that the witch walking behind the platoon was none other than the Tonks he knew from the Order.  
  
"I don't think they did Drill Sergeant Anders. In fact, I think this one here likes to smile an awful lot." Tonks had seen Ron grinning at her, but the look on her face quickly erased his smile. As she stomped over to where he was laying, he put his face back towards the ground, hoping to get out of whatever trouble he had just got into.  
  
It didn't work. He heard Tonks kneel down next to him and call over her shoulder, "I think he was smiling at those boys behind him. Is that what you were doing Private Weasley? Were you smiling at those boys behind you?"  
  
"No, Drill Sergeant, I was smiling at you." Ron quickly said, to stop her from implying that he was smiling at Dean and Seamus. That was the last thing he needed, his mates making jokes about his sexual preference.  
  
"AT ME!" she screamed right in his ear. "Am I your pal now Private? Do you come over to my flat on Saturdays to hang out? Do I look like I want you as a fucking buddy?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"No, Drill Sergeant." Ron answered simply, not believing this was the same Tonks that had made Ginny and Hermione squeal with laughter at the faces she would make. Thinking about Hermione made his heart lurch. He began wondering how bad 3 years in Azkaban could possibly be. You got visitations, right?  
  
Just as Harry looked like he might pass out from eating so much grass, Drill Sergeant Anders lifted his boot and walked over toward the rest of the platoon. Ron didn't like the look on his face.  
  
"Let me make one thing clear, I do not care if you are black, white, purple, yellow or the 'savior' of the wizarding world," he said, throwing a sharp look at Harry, "as of right now, you are all equally worthless. Why Merlin cursed me into getting a platoon as pathetic as you, I'll never know."  
  
"However, someone in the Ministry thinks that your useless hides might be worth something, so I have to train you to be the best. And believe me scumbags, IF you finish my training, you will be the best."  
  
"Drill Sergeant Nobles, get these pathetic creatures out of my sight." Anders instructed the third and final Drill Sergeant, as he walked toward the building. "Roger that." Nobles answered.  
  
"Alright you worms, you heard the man, grab your gear and start crawling to that building. You have one zero minutes to be in front of those barracks, with your PT gear on, and the clock is ticking. PT equals physical training for you lady boys that have never lifted more than 2 kilograms in your life."  
  
As the men dragged themselves up to the building, ruining their brand new B.A.T. robes, Ron looked over and saw that the other two platoons were in the same sad shape his was. It amused him to see Malfoy, who was usually so starched and clean, covered in mud and slime.  
  
Although Malfoy had shown his true colors and loyalties by standing against his father in the final battle, Ron still had trouble getting over their past. He quickly turned his attention back to the task at hand, as Tonks had put a spit shined boot into his backside very forcefully.  
  
When the young soldiers got into the barracks, they saw that the bunks were very close together, and a far cry from the plush, comfortable beds at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron ran to the bunks that had their names on them, and saw a small wall locker next to them. Throwing their bags into the lockers, and removing the shorts and t-shirts from them, they quickly changed clothes.  
  
As they ran downstairs with the rest of the platoon, they saw the three Drill Sergeants standing in front of the building, looking at their watches.  
  
"Make three even ranks." Anders instructed briskly. The Privates moved into 3 lines of 9 each. "What were your instructions? Anyone? Private Lemmex?"  
  
"Er.To be in front of the barracks with PT gear on in ten minutes." a sandy haired boy answered.  
  
"That's correct nimrod, so would you care to explain why it took your platoon 12 minutes to get here?"  
  
"Well, you see, Drill Sergeant, we had to crawl up that hill from the field there, and."  
  
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Anders bellowed. "DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS ANY EXCUSE THAT YOU CAN GIVE ME, THAT WILL GET YOU OUT OF THE TROUBLE YOU ARE NOW IN?"  
  
"N-N-No, Drill Sergeant." Lemmex answered meekly.  
  
"Than why are you trying to give me an excuse? The correct answer would be 'No excuse, Drill Sergeant'. Now drop and give me 20 pushups." Lemmex dropped.  
  
"Maybe we should call you Private Lummox. What do you think Drill Sergeant Tonks?"  
  
Tonks laughed and nodded her affirmative. "Lummox it is then" Anders said. "Now then, one of you is going to be responsible for this platoon on the rare occasion that we aren't around. So which poor soul is going to volunteer?"  
  
No one moved a muscle except Lemmex, who was still struggling with his pushups. Finally, seeing that no one else was moving, a tall boy in the back raised his hand tentatively.  
  
"I don't remember this being a volunteer Army, you idiot!" Anders shouted. "What's your name brown noser?" "Private Mackenzie, Drill Sergeant" the tall boy answered.  
  
"Well from now on, you're Private Brown Nose!" Anders replied. "You, Private Strawberry!" he said pointing at Ron, who nearly jumped back. "You just got volunteered by Private Brown Nose."  
  
'Damn it' Ron thought to himself. The rest of the day went pretty much the same way. Nothing any of them did was right, and if one of them screwed up, the whole platoon got in trouble.  
  
Later on that night, as they lay in their respective bunks, soaked in sweat, Private Dipshit looked down at Private Strawberry and asked, "What do you think the girls are doing right now?"  
  
"Dunno mate, but whatever it is, it's got to be better than this." Ron answered. Harry completely agreed with him. As they lay in silence, they both fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the days events. 


End file.
